The invention relates to a test wheel arrangement, to the use of a test wheel arrangement, and to a method for preparing a motor vehicle for the testing of various running properties by way of at least one wheel axle.
Test benches for the testing of vehicles are known from the prior art, which offer numerous advantages as a supplement to road testing. As well as being independent of the weather, operation on a test bench allows measuring devices to be fitted to the vehicle which, on account of their size, their weight or complex wiring, are unsuitable for road travel. A further advantage of such test benches is the reproducibility of the test operation, which can be ensured on the test bench with a higher degree of accuracy than is possible in the case of road travel. By means of the test benches of the type mentioned here it is possible to simulate different driving cycles of a motor vehicle and to measure the overall properties of the vehicle. In particular, the noise produced by the drive chain, such as gears, drive shaft or bearings, can be measured. Furthermore, the longitudinal dynamics of a vehicle, that is to say especially the drive, the brakes, the driving resistance and the consumption, etc., or also the transverse dynamics, that is to say especially the steering, cornering, stability against overturning, etc., can be determined. The acceleration in or about the axles of a motor vehicle can also be determined. Overall, test benches accordingly permit a comprehensive determination of vehicle-specific properties, which are not listed exhaustively here.
Test benches of the known type for vehicle testing conventionally make use of the basic principle of a moving track. For that purpose, in so-called roller test benches there are in most cases provided large rollers, which are fitted in the storey beneath the test space for the vehicle. However, a test bench can also make use of the so-called flat track concept, in which the driving track moves away beneath the vehicle, similarly to a belt grinding machine. It is a disadvantage of the test benches of the above-described type that, in addition to a considerable structural outlay, they require the vehicle to be fixed securely and robustly to the rollers or to the flat track. However, fixing of the vehicle to the test bench generates stresses in the vehicle body and stresses in vehicle components which influence the vibration and transmission behaviour of the vehicle, as a result of which the test results are falsified. A further disadvantage arises in respect of the testing of the vehicle acoustics in order to determine sound emissions of a vehicle. The friction pairing between the tyres of a vehicle to be tested and the test bench covering creates a different rolling noise than is the case with road travel, so that considerable differences in the vehicle acoustics can occur in a roller or flat-track test bench as compared with typical road operation.